Turns out that, since November, Durant has been working with Adam Harrington as his personal trainer beyond his daily duties with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Which is the same Adam Harrington who briefly played alongside Nowitzki with the Dallas Mavericks more than a decade ago and has been studying the unorthodox coaching techniques hatched by Nowitzki's longtime mentor and shot doctor from back home, Holger Geschwindner, ever since. "It's a lot more than just trying to copy the one-legger," Durant said, explaining that he's not merely focused on trying to mimic Nowitzki's signature shot. "Dirk's got a lot of moves I'm trying to steal."

Dirk, you see, is Durant's favorite active player. "It's probably a tie between him and Kobe," Durant said after giving it some extra thought. Yet there's no disputing who's the more natural role model for KD. It's that 35-year-old, that 7-footer, who plays three hours away down Interstate 35 ... and who just shot his way into the top 10 on the league's all-time scoring charts in his 16th season. You figure Durant will get there even faster at his current pace, given the insane levels of efficiency he's hitting -- sporting a PER of 30.2 for the season -- and blessed with that extra dose of athleticism Dirk has always dreamed of.